I also enjoyed working on a larger format than I have previously worked during this course. This afforded me a greater surface area in which to build and develop layers and textures.
I started working in the negative space of the top left-hand corner of both of the drawings. I found that it was a lot easier to work on the lighter jungle green background of the first drawing, as opposed to the Lincoln green of the second drawing (fig. 1). What I tried to do in each drawing was to elude to there being many layers of vegetation beneath the leaves in the foreground. After working the areas, I purposefully applied layers of washes of ink of varying hues of green to help to unite the background and to make it less distracting. I deliberately started to work away from the natural hues of burnt amber and tan found in the photograph - trying to free the artwork from realism and to allow the colors to become exaggerated and more abstract (fig. 3).
Once I had completed two-thirds of the top area of negative space, I started to work on the negative space in the lower two-thirds of the drawings. I found that the way in which I worked these two drawings was quite different. I had started working on the second drawing first. In this drawing there is a shape that I interpreted as a leaf shape, using lighter hues and shades of green to allow it to visually connect to the foreground leaves (fig.4). In the initial drawing, however, I decided to try to make this area less obvious and to draw it in as if it was part of the underlying vegetation (fig.5). The effect is that on the second drawing, the lighter leaf appears to frame the central leaf, emphasizing it; whereas, in the other drawing, the central leaf is held in check and position by the lighter background on the bottom right-hand side of the picture plane. The leaves in this drawing rest on what appears to be a crisscross of dried leaves or sticks.
When tackling the foreground leaves, I started on my initial drawing. I appreciated the fact that I had already laid down the bright yellow and mint green washes. What I did not anticipate was how hard it was going to be to work onto the maps in such a way that parts of the map could appear through the layers, but still appear buried in the drawing. Somehow when working in my sketchbook, this had seemed easier. I don't really know why, as I would have thought that the surface would not have been affected by the fact that the underlying paper had a different absorbency, but it seemed to be different.
I found that my application of acrylic paint often appeared cloddish and clumsy in my initial drawing. So, when I worked on the second drawing, I tried to work in lighter hues, with thinner layers, trying to preserve the underlying printed images more. I think that this was more effectively done in the second drawing.
What I found difficult was creating the foreshortening effect of the two leaves that project towards the viewer. It was hard to make these leaves the focal point and to make the perspective convincing. In both drawings, I tried to emphasize the edge and the under surface of the spikey projection. In the initial drawing, I left the underside the light mint green hue (fig.6); whereas on the second drawing, I tried to darken the area (fig.7). I think this worked as the tonality of the leaves surrounding these projections were quite different from each other. The surrounding hues and tones in the initial drawing are darker, allowing the lighter underside to create a contrast; whereas the surrounding hues are lighter in the second drawing, allowing the darker underside to provide the necessary contrast.
One of Marija Marsenic Vujovic's comments of my preliminary drawings was that she did not like my use of pure white and black. She explained that in nature one rarely sees pure white and black. By using them, I was deadening my artworks. She suggested that I ensure that I create my own blacks and add touches of hues to my whites to allow them to be less dominant. During the process of drawing in the white veins - the contrast of which first attracted me to these leaves - I struggled hard to emphasize these design elements, without making them too dominant. I often had to paint washes of ink over the lines to try to soften their stark contrast to the surrounding leaves.
As I progressively moved across the picture plane, the right-hand side of each of my artworks remained relatively unworked. I had deliberately focused my work on the left-hand side as I wanted this to remain the dominant area of interest. The result of this was that I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with the right-hand side. Should I work a lot more layers into these areas, or should I leave them relatively unresolved to ensure that I did not fall into the trap of becoming too illustrative - something that I had resolved not to do in this series of artworks?
My husband suggested that I try to turn the paintings upside down, or on their sides to gain a different perspective on them.
I found it so interesting how totally different the artworks felt when tipped 90 degrees counter-clockwise. (Turning them 180 degrees made me feel quite nauseous, so I changed it back to 90 degrees.) When turning them off their regular axis, I realized that I really liked the way in which I had worked the central top section of the background of the first drawing. This area had a lot more depth and layers than on the second drawing. My husband talked about cutting this section out of the original and sticking it on to the second drawing. By this stage I felt quite attached to both drawings and did not feel like sacrificing the one for the other. So, instead, I studied what I had done in the first drawing, and tried to emulate it better in the second drawing. I was satisfied with the increased sense of depth and increased layers.
Before turning my drawings around, I discussed with my husband that I really liked the bright sea green in the top right-hand corner of the second drawing, but I did not know how to integrate it better with the rest of the drawing. By changing the axis of the drawings, I got a sense that the bottom right-hand corner of the second drawing (the top left-hand corner when turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise) would be better if it was more detailed and not the light hues that I had. As a result, I worked more forms into the area with increased layers to allow this section to balance the composition better. I also decided to work some more layers into the sea green corner, allowing the linear elements to become more absorbed into the background. I also used washes of this sea green in the bottom left-hand corner to provide a visual link across the composition. I was pleased that the brighter blue-greens of previous washes in the foreground leaves also linked with this accent color (fig.8).
Lastly, I liked the appearance of the leaf that juts into the negative space in the upper mid-section of the original drawing. So I studied this leaf and tried to emulate the way in which I had worked this leaf in the first drawing.
On completing these drawings, I asked my husband if he felt that the edges of the leaves were too well defined. I felt as if they appeared to sharp, creating too strong of a contrast. My husband disagreed as he reminded me that this was the appeal of these leaves; they are extremely prickly and sharp by contrast to the surrounding foliage. Keeping the edges crisp helped to emulate the emotive appeal of the thistle leaves.
In retrospect, I wish I had a photographic journal of all of the changes I made. I did not take photographs as the lighting in the room I am working in is very uneven. It has windows with shutters to the right of my work space, which cause the photographs to bleach out, and when the lights are on, the lighting is distorted by the orange glow of the old light fixtures. I did not want to remove the artworks for photographing, as it had been hard to get everything to stay where it needed to be in the first place. I do, however, feel that in future I would like to keep a photo-journal of my process to get a better sense of the impact of the changes I made along the way. I feel that this would help to inform later artworks.
I really struggled to take photographs that depict the luminosity of the rich greens I was able to create with the Bombay inks. Unfortunately, the photographs make this work appear to be more illustrative than it actually is, due to the way that the colors are slightly muted and less dramatic. I am grateful that my works will be seen in person, as I think that this will help assessors to get a better idea of what it is I achieved in this drawing.
Critique
This afternoon, I was able to talk to Mirjana Marsenic Vujovic about her latest exhibition in Gallery 106 in Amsterdam which opened 24 November, 2016. She described how uplifting it was to be able to be surrounded by artists who asked questions about her artworks and were interested in her work. She said that they showed a genuine interest in her technique and inspiration. She found it humbling and yet energizing at the same time.
What I find inspiring about her is that she has been able to establish herself as internationally exhibited artist, and yet hold down a full-time teaching career. What I also appreciate about her artwork is her cheerful palette. Her colors reflect the vibrant splendor of the colours of the Montenegrin Fall and Summer countryside. This can be seen in the colours she used in her exhibition selection "A Journey through: the Forces of Nature."
As she had critiqued my original sketches and given me pointers before the commencement of this project, I showed her my two drawings. She was very encouraging in her critique of my two drawings. She felt that both of them could stand on their own as artworks, however, she strongly recommended that they had more of an impact as a pair. She suggested submitting them both together to show the different approaches to the same subject and the exploration of the subject matter. I will need to discuss this with my tutor.
She went on to suggest that I could further explore this same subject, trying a different color scheme: perhaps oranges and browns. This would be very interesting to explore at a later date as I would imagine it would create a totally different effect.
After looking at pictures online of her recent exhibition in Amsterdam, I feel encouraged that I have been able to interpret her homeland in a manner which is also uplifting and almost lyrical in the cheerful colour palette I used. I know that some of this happened as part of my "happy accident" when my yellow ink spilled and needed to be used constructively.
 |
| Fig 2. Left-hand side of Drawing 1 |
 |
| Fig. 3. Left-hand side of Drawing 2. |
I started working in the negative space of the top left-hand corner of both of the drawings. I found that it was a lot easier to work on the lighter jungle green background of the first drawing, as opposed to the Lincoln green of the second drawing (fig. 1). What I tried to do in each drawing was to elude to there being many layers of vegetation beneath the leaves in the foreground. After working the areas, I purposefully applied layers of washes of ink of varying hues of green to help to unite the background and to make it less distracting. I deliberately started to work away from the natural hues of burnt amber and tan found in the photograph - trying to free the artwork from realism and to allow the colors to become exaggerated and more abstract (fig. 3).
Once I had completed two-thirds of the top area of negative space, I started to work on the negative space in the lower two-thirds of the drawings. I found that the way in which I worked these two drawings was quite different. I had started working on the second drawing first. In this drawing there is a shape that I interpreted as a leaf shape, using lighter hues and shades of green to allow it to visually connect to the foreground leaves (fig.4). In the initial drawing, however, I decided to try to make this area less obvious and to draw it in as if it was part of the underlying vegetation (fig.5). The effect is that on the second drawing, the lighter leaf appears to frame the central leaf, emphasizing it; whereas, in the other drawing, the central leaf is held in check and position by the lighter background on the bottom right-hand side of the picture plane. The leaves in this drawing rest on what appears to be a crisscross of dried leaves or sticks.
 |
| Fig. 4. Bottom Left-hand Corner Drawing 2 |
 |
| Fig.5. Bottom left-hand corner drawing 1 |
I found that my application of acrylic paint often appeared cloddish and clumsy in my initial drawing. So, when I worked on the second drawing, I tried to work in lighter hues, with thinner layers, trying to preserve the underlying printed images more. I think that this was more effectively done in the second drawing.
 |
| Fig. 6. Foreshortening on drawing 1. |
One of Marija Marsenic Vujovic's comments of my preliminary drawings was that she did not like my use of pure white and black. She explained that in nature one rarely sees pure white and black. By using them, I was deadening my artworks. She suggested that I ensure that I create my own blacks and add touches of hues to my whites to allow them to be less dominant. During the process of drawing in the white veins - the contrast of which first attracted me to these leaves - I struggled hard to emphasize these design elements, without making them too dominant. I often had to paint washes of ink over the lines to try to soften their stark contrast to the surrounding leaves.
 |
| Fig. 7. Foreshortening on drawing 2 |
My husband suggested that I try to turn the paintings upside down, or on their sides to gain a different perspective on them.
I found it so interesting how totally different the artworks felt when tipped 90 degrees counter-clockwise. (Turning them 180 degrees made me feel quite nauseous, so I changed it back to 90 degrees.) When turning them off their regular axis, I realized that I really liked the way in which I had worked the central top section of the background of the first drawing. This area had a lot more depth and layers than on the second drawing. My husband talked about cutting this section out of the original and sticking it on to the second drawing. By this stage I felt quite attached to both drawings and did not feel like sacrificing the one for the other. So, instead, I studied what I had done in the first drawing, and tried to emulate it better in the second drawing. I was satisfied with the increased sense of depth and increased layers.
 |
| Fig. 8. Right-hand corner final drawing 2 |
Before turning my drawings around, I discussed with my husband that I really liked the bright sea green in the top right-hand corner of the second drawing, but I did not know how to integrate it better with the rest of the drawing. By changing the axis of the drawings, I got a sense that the bottom right-hand corner of the second drawing (the top left-hand corner when turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise) would be better if it was more detailed and not the light hues that I had. As a result, I worked more forms into the area with increased layers to allow this section to balance the composition better. I also decided to work some more layers into the sea green corner, allowing the linear elements to become more absorbed into the background. I also used washes of this sea green in the bottom left-hand corner to provide a visual link across the composition. I was pleased that the brighter blue-greens of previous washes in the foreground leaves also linked with this accent color (fig.8).
Lastly, I liked the appearance of the leaf that juts into the negative space in the upper mid-section of the original drawing. So I studied this leaf and tried to emulate the way in which I had worked this leaf in the first drawing.
On completing these drawings, I asked my husband if he felt that the edges of the leaves were too well defined. I felt as if they appeared to sharp, creating too strong of a contrast. My husband disagreed as he reminded me that this was the appeal of these leaves; they are extremely prickly and sharp by contrast to the surrounding foliage. Keeping the edges crisp helped to emulate the emotive appeal of the thistle leaves.
 |
| Fig. 9. Final Drawing 1 |
 |
| Fig. 10. Final Drawing 2 |
I really struggled to take photographs that depict the luminosity of the rich greens I was able to create with the Bombay inks. Unfortunately, the photographs make this work appear to be more illustrative than it actually is, due to the way that the colors are slightly muted and less dramatic. I am grateful that my works will be seen in person, as I think that this will help assessors to get a better idea of what it is I achieved in this drawing.
Critique
This afternoon, I was able to talk to Mirjana Marsenic Vujovic about her latest exhibition in Gallery 106 in Amsterdam which opened 24 November, 2016. She described how uplifting it was to be able to be surrounded by artists who asked questions about her artworks and were interested in her work. She said that they showed a genuine interest in her technique and inspiration. She found it humbling and yet energizing at the same time.
What I find inspiring about her is that she has been able to establish herself as internationally exhibited artist, and yet hold down a full-time teaching career. What I also appreciate about her artwork is her cheerful palette. Her colors reflect the vibrant splendor of the colours of the Montenegrin Fall and Summer countryside. This can be seen in the colours she used in her exhibition selection "A Journey through: the Forces of Nature."
As she had critiqued my original sketches and given me pointers before the commencement of this project, I showed her my two drawings. She was very encouraging in her critique of my two drawings. She felt that both of them could stand on their own as artworks, however, she strongly recommended that they had more of an impact as a pair. She suggested submitting them both together to show the different approaches to the same subject and the exploration of the subject matter. I will need to discuss this with my tutor.
She went on to suggest that I could further explore this same subject, trying a different color scheme: perhaps oranges and browns. This would be very interesting to explore at a later date as I would imagine it would create a totally different effect.
After looking at pictures online of her recent exhibition in Amsterdam, I feel encouraged that I have been able to interpret her homeland in a manner which is also uplifting and almost lyrical in the cheerful colour palette I used. I know that some of this happened as part of my "happy accident" when my yellow ink spilled and needed to be used constructively.
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